VICKSBURG — It took Natchez High School a quarter to get its offense warmed up Friday night at Warren Central High School.

But when the Bulldogs got going in the second quarter, they put up enough points to give them an insurmountable lead.

Natchez scored 20 points in the second period with touchdown runs from Derrian Johnson, Sidney Davis and Walter Turner to take a 20-3 lead into the half.

The Bulldogs defense then stepped up and held the lead, and Natchez drove home from Vicksburg with a 26-9 victory.

“We were playing with a lot of emotion tonight,” head coach Lance Reed said. “We looked like a team that was hungry for a victory. We were pleased with the effort, and effort is the name of the game. If we come out with that energy level, we give ourselves a chance to win every Friday.”

The Bulldogs used a balanced attack to put up 421 yards. They finished with 212 yards rushing and 209 passing.

“We felt good about our performance (on offense),” Reed said. “We’ve improved, but there are still areas we are working on.”

Quarterback Anthony Robinson connected on 16 of his 22 passes for 209 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Sidney Davis was Robinson’s main target. He caught six balls for 93 yards and a touchdown.

Denzel Washington led the Bulldogs on the ground with 64 yards.

Evin Hunt was all over the field on defense for the Bulldogs. He finished the game with eight tackles, three assists, two tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble and an interception.

Reed said he continues to be impressed with how much better the Bulldogs are getting each week.

“We’re a team that’s improving weekly, but we still have room for improvement,” Reed said.

Natchez (3-1) is off next week before traveling to face Meridian High School Sept. 21.